Acts 27:15-17

Amplified Bible

¹⁵and when the ship was caught in it and could not head against the wind [to gain stability], we gave up and [letting her drift] were driven along. ¹⁶We ran under the shelter of a small island [twenty-five miles south of Crete] called Clauda, and with great difficulty we were able to get the ship’s ^[a]skiff on the deck and secure it. ¹⁷After hoisting the skiff [on board], they used ^[b]support lines [for frapping] to undergird and brace the ship’s hull; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis [off the north coast of Africa], they let down the ^[c]sea anchor and lowered the sails and were driven along [backwards with the bow into the wind].

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Footnotes

Acts 27:16 This was a small boat towed behind the ship for transportation to and from shore or as a lifeboat for emergencies. In a violent sea it might collide repeatedly with the ship and cause major damage.
Acts 27:17 These were ropes that were tightly wrapped around (and sometimes under) the hull of an ancient ship to firm and strengthen it in heavy seas.
Acts 27:17 A sea anchor (para-anchor) is a sturdy fabric parachute set at the end of an anchor rode (designed for use with a rope/chain windlass) or other long line and sometimes weighted so it rides deep. A sea anchor is placed off the bow (front) so that the boat’s bow would be held into the wind while drifting or being blown downwind. One danger of this is that the rudder may be damaged and that is what happened later—the rudder was lost (see v 40). A drogue is set off the stern (back) when sailing downwind to slow the boat and provide more control. The sea anchor held the bow into the wind and slowed the drift. The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, Third Edition.